Feels like it’s been a while since a major Hollywood star spoke out and shared their sexual assault story.
Eliza Dushku can no longer be silenced. In a Facebook post, Dushku claims that stuntman Joel Kramer molested her when she was 12-years-old on the set of True Lies.
Ever since, I have struggled with how and when to disclose this, if ever. At the time, I shared what happened to me with my parents, two adult friends and one of my older brothers. No one seemed ready to confront this taboo subject then, nor was I.
Following her decision to face the situation, Dushku revealed the details.
I remember, so clearly 25 years later, how Joel Kramer made me feel special, how he methodically built my and my parents’ trust, for months grooming me; exactly how he lured me to his Miami hotel room with a promise to my parent that he would take me for a swim at the stunt crew’s hotel pool and for my first sushi meal thereafter. I remember vividly how he methodically drew the shades and turned down the lights; how he cranked up the air-conditioning to what felt like freezing levels, where exactly he placed me on one of the two hotel room beds, what movie he put on the television (Coneheads); how he disappeared in the bathroom and emerged, naked, bearing nothing but a small hand towel held flimsy at his mid-section. I remember what I was wearing (my favorite white denim shorts, thankfully, secured enough for me to keep on). I remember how he laid me down on the bed, wrapped me with his gigantic writhing body, and rubbed all over me. He spoke these words: “You’re not going to sleep on me now sweetie, stop pretending you’re sleeping,” as he rubbed harder and faster against my catatonic body. When he was ‘finished’, he suggested, “I think we should be careful…,” [about telling anyone] he meant. I was 12, he was 36.
Coneheads came out on July 23, 1993. True Lies released on July 15, 1994. That should give you an idea of when this incident took place. It also implies Kramer rented Coneheads on the hotel television because there’s no way it would have been on cable by that point.
I’m guessing the incident took place in early 1994 based on Dushku’s timeline.
To be clear, over the course of those months rehearsing and filming True Lies, it was Joel Kramer who was responsible for my safety on a film that at the time broke new ground for action films. On a daily basis he rigged wires and harnesses on my 12 year old body. My life was literally in his hands: he hung me in the open air, from a tower crane, atop an office tower, 25+ stories high. Whereas he was supposed to be my protector, he was my abuser.
Stuntmen really have too much power in Hollywood, if you think about it.
I learned recently that in fact he still works at the top of the industry. And a few weeks ago, I found an internet photo of Joel Kramer hugging a young girl. That image has haunted me near nonstop since. I can no longer hide what happened.
Good on Dushku for finally speaking up. She’s obviously not alone and she’s probably not the only one who has remained silent while everyone is coming out.
CNN reached out to Kramer. He, of course, denied the allegations. Here was his response:
“While filming ‘True Lies’ I treated Ms. Dushku with respect and was protective of her safety and welfare as is appropriate to my position as a stunt coordinator,” he wrote. “A film crew is like a family, and Eliza was always treated and protected as a member of the family. ”
Kramer said he was never alone with Dushku and he called her allegations “a well-crafted fabrication.”
“I do not understand what motivated Ms. Dushku to make this statement and I hope that she can find it in her conscious to correct this injustice and return my good name to me,” he wrote. “I understand the culture in Hollywood has been historically unfair to women and I applaud and support women who are standing up and pointing out these injustices. It is unfortunate, however that this new culture allows a person to destroy the life and livelihood of a person with false accusations.”
Yeah, I’m siding with Dushku. Jamie Lee Curtis backs up her story. And I’m not going against Jamie Lee Curtis.